Home Office

Entry Clearances: Kurds

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from the Kurdish Region in Iraq (a) applied for and (b) were refused entry clearance to the UK in the last six months for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley: For the purposes of this answer, ‘people from the Kurdish region of Iraq’ has been interpreted to mean people making visa applications at the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, UKVI’s application point in the Kurdish region. It is possible for people not ordinarily resident in the region to apply in Erbil, and for people from the region to apply at other locations, but worldwide data specific only to people from the Kurdish region could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The most recent figures available are from April 2015 to September 2015 and show A) the number of Entry Clearance applications made via the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, Iraq, to be 1790 and B) the number of refusals 1165. * The figures quoted are not provided under National statistics protocols but have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.

EU Immigration: Women and Children

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Unicef press release of 2 February 2016, More children and women seek safety in Europe, what steps she is taking to support vulnerable women and children entering the UK.

Karen Bradley: We carefully consider all asylum claims and provide protection for those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations. We are committed to treating all those who seek asylum with dignity and respect, including women and girls whose fear is based on gender related persecution, such as sexual violence in conflict situations. We provide accommodation and other support that ensure asylum seekers are not destitute while their claim is considered. The Home Office liaises closely with corporate partners on gender related issues, including active involvement in the wider Home Office strategy to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). We have developed an asylum gender action plan and have made good progress in improving the asylum process for women. We work closely with local authorities, children’s services and other agencies to ensure that asylum seeking children receive appropriate support and care. Local authorities, who lead on child protection, have a statutory duty under the Children Act to ensure that they safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, regardless of their immigration status or nationality. Under these arrangements, looked after children are provided with access to all their needs in relation to education, accommodation, psychological or health.

Immigration: Appeals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2015 to Question 19716, what proportion of oral appeals were not represented in each month of the last three years.

Karen Bradley: Further to my earlier response of 11 December 2015, the proportion of oral appeals where the Secretary of State for the Home Department was not represented for each month of the last three years is set out in the following data table. As set out in my previous answer the proportion of oral appeals not represented increased between January – September 2015 in comparison to the previous 2 years. This was the result of the availability of presenting resource in the Home Office to match court listing schedules which varied from forecasts used for planning purposes to a significant extent. Resources were put in place to address this and representation rates increased in the final three months of the calendar year.

Immigration Rules: Airlines

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with airline companies on ensuring that immigration rules are carried out correctly by airline staff.

Karen Bradley: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office.

Rescue Services: Overseas Aid

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department's funding to sea search and rescue programmes are due to end; what future funding is planned for such programmes; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Border Force is undertaking a vital role in the search and rescue of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as part of a Frontex led programme. Border Force carried out for the Department for International Development (DFID) funded search and rescue missions in Summer 2015 and is currently undertaking a second DFID funded deployment, which is due to end on 30th April 2016. Given the significant contribution made to date, it is likely that Frontex will invite Border Force to continue its involvement in future search and rescue programmes and Border Force is therefore currently establishing its Mediterranean role after 30th April 2016 and the availability of further DFID funding.

Department for Education

Basic Skills: Primary Education

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her announcement of 2 November 2015 Introducing greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy at key stage 2, what representations she has since received on that policy; and approximately how many such representations were (a) against and (b) in favour of that statement.

Nick Gibb: We have not received specific representations on literacy and numeracy following the Secretary of State’s announcement in November. The government remains committed to raising standards of literacy and numeracy and works closely with professionals to raise standards for all pupils so that they are equipped to succeed in education and in life. In 2010, one in every three children starting secondary school was unable to read, write, or add up properly. Following government reforms, teachers have driven up standards with the figure now at one in five.It is vital that we get the foundation right so that every child has a fair chance to succeed through all key stages. That is why we have placed phonics at the heart of the early teaching of reading and introduced a phonics check at the end of year 1 to enable schools to assess whether the essential building blocks of reading are in place. The percentage of pupils meeting the required standards of phonics in year 1 has increased from 58 percent in 2012 to 77 percent in 2015, putting 120,000 more 6 year olds each year on track to become confident readers. We fund a programme of 200 book clubs in primary schools where reading attainment at key stage 2 is currently low, and support schools to enrol year 3 pupils with a public library.Beyond this, we have placed a greater emphasis within the primary curriculum and assessment on a secure grasp of the essentials such as grammar, punctuation and spelling, introducing a grammar, punctuation and spelling test in year 6.For mathematics, we have placed particular emphasis in the primary curriculum on fluency in mental and written calculation. Just as knowledge of phonics is an essential foundation for success in reading, sound knowledge of arithmetic is essential for future success in mathematics. We removed the use of calculators for the end of key stage 2 mathematics tests from 2014 and in January 2016 we announced that all children will have their multiplication skills checked at the age of 11.We want to ensure that all children have the right foundation at primary school and that any child who falls behind can catch up quickly. We provide funding to secondary schools to help year 7 pupils catch up and, as the Secretary of State said in her November speech, we have announced a resit test for year 7 pupils who do not meet expected standards in reading or mathematics at the end primary school.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who had been wrongfully released from English prisons  were recalled in 2013.

Andrew Selous: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. My hon friend has very recently written to me about a specific case and I will reply to him shortly.

Prisoners' Release

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of terrorism offences who were wrongfully released from English prisons were recalled in 2013.

Andrew Selous: Of those in prison on 1 January 2013 convicted under Terrorism Act (TACT) legislation or those who were convicted during the course of 2013 under such legislation, one prisoner was released in error. He was recaptured and brought back into custody. NOMs formally investigates every release in error and the majority of prisoners released are quickly returned to custody to continue serving their sentence. Releases in error remain relatively rare occurrences. Less than one in 1000 releases is made in error.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Palestinians: Detainees

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of Palestinian children imprisoned in (a) Palestine and (b) Israel in 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold information on this issue. However, according to the Israeli Non-Government Office (NGO) Military Court Watch, 422 Palestinian children were held in Israeli military detention as of 31 December, 2015. According to figures provided by the Israeli Prison Service, 148 children are being held inside detention facilities inside of Israel and 274 children are being held in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. According to the Palestinian human rights NGO, Addameer, there are no children being detained as Palestinian prisoners.We are concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. We funded an independent report on Children in Military Custody.

Mauritania: Slavery

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the prevalence of slavery in Mauritania.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We remain concerned about continued reports of slavery in Mauritania, and about the modest sentences handed down in the few successful prosecutions for slavery offences. We welcome the establishment of three courts with specific responsibility for slavery cases. We continue to monitor this topic closely. We regularly raise our concerns with the Mauritanian authorities in the UK and in Nouakchott, and meet human rights and anti-slavery campaigners to discuss the subject.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: Calder Valley

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on flood defence schemes in the Calder Valley area in (a) 1997 to 2010, (b) 2010 to 2015; and what the projected spend on such schemes is for 2015 to 2020.

Rory Stewart: The following table shows historic and projected annual total spend on flood defence schemes in the Calder Valley area. Schemes are allocated funding based on nationally consistent criteria. The position of a scheme in the programme will depend on the availability and timing of contributions and how its appraisal or design are progressing. The projected funding has been allocated in current spending plans and the Government’s National Flood Resilience Review will re-examine worst case extreme weather scenarios and the resulting potential flood impacts across the country.  Total spend (Total in £k)2000/011752001/026642002/031,4802003/048362004/053,7982005/0610,7852006/075,1062007/081,2212008/09952009/101452010/115372011/123,8652012/135,7052013/142,6272014/151,0862015/162,7602016/172,6862017/1802018/192002019/202702020/2150